# StevenBlack/hosts

🔒 Consolidating and extending hosts files from several well-curated sources. Optionally pick extensions for porn, social media, and other categories.

Repository: https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/hosts
Language: Python
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: python, unified-hosts, malware, ad-blocker, porn-filter, social-media-filter, hosts, privacy, protection, pornblocker, gambling-filter, ransomware, trojans, security, curated-sources, anti-virus
Last push: 2026-08-26T01:26:15+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 95/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 87, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5256, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 8, "gap_med": 3.0, "n_releases_24m": 205}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 30954, forks 2439 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:56.536721+00:00)

## What it is
A hosts file aggregator that consolidates and merges several well-curated hosts files into unified, deduplicated hosts files for DNS-level blocking of ads, malware, and other unwanted domains. It offers 31 variants with optional extensions for categories like porn, social media, and gambling.

## Use cases
- block ads at the DNS level on my machine
- protect my network from malware and ransomware domains
- block social media sites on my kids' devices
- combine multiple ad-blocking hosts lists into one
- set up Pi-hole with a curated blocklist
- filter gambling and adult content on a router
- find a maintained unified hosts file for my laptop

## When to choose
- you want DNS-level blocking via a hosts file without extra software
- you need a regularly updated, deduplicated merge of reputable blocklists
- you want optional category extensions like porn, gambling, or social media filters
- you use tools like Pi-hole, AdGuard, or Hostsman that consume hosts files

## When to avoid
- you need per-element cosmetic ad hiding on web pages (use a browser extension like uBlock Origin)
- you need dynamic DNS filtering with logging and dashboards (use Pi-hole or AdGuard Home)
- you cannot modify your system's hosts file or router DNS settings

## Facets
- artifact type: dataset
- maturity: active
- function: security, privacy, web-scraping, developer-tools
- domain: security, privacy, self-hosted, web-development
- platform: cross-platform, windows, self-hosted
- tags: hosts-file, ad-blocking, dns-blocking, malware-filter, porn-filter, gambling-filter, social-media-filter, curated-lists, aggregator, linux, macos, android

## Member repositories
- StevenBlack/hosts (main) score 95

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:56.536721+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T16:52:20.400362+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:56.536721+00:00, sha 5302acd173a3)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.